Heart's Cry
by Sentimental Star
Summary: **COMPLETE** AU. While on a large-scale search-and-rescue mission, sixteen-year-old Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi waits for his Master to return, even thought all odds of Qui-Gon Jinn surviving are against him . . .--NO Slash--


DISCLAIMER: I do not nor ever will own Star Wars or Jedi Apprentice. If I did, there would be some serious changes to the series. Anyway, everything you recognize belongs to Jude Watson, George Lucas, or someone who isn't me.  
  
TITLE: Heart's Cry  
  
SUMMARY: While on a large scale search-and-rescue mission, sixteen-year- old Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi waits for his Master to return . . . even though all odds of Qui-Gon Jinn surviving are turned against him . . .  
  
SERIES: None as of yet  
  
SPOILERS: None that I know of  
  
CATEGORY: Angst/Drama, H/C, Non-slash  
  
TIME PERIOD: 9 years Pre-TPM  
  
RATING: G-PG  
  
FEEDBACK: Yes, please! My e-mail is ecrivain16@yahoo.com or review at Fanfiction.net.  
  
A/N: Okay, folks, this was a spur-of-the-moment fic and is rather short compared to some of my other works, so please don't hate me for it. There is a loving father/son relationship between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon; I don't do slash or pre-slash, but please read it anyway. R&R, s'il vous plait (please)!  
  
/thoughts/  
  
//telepathy//  
  
"Padawan Kenobi, rest you must. Good you cannot do if tired you are," Councilor/Jedi Master Yoda gently reprimanded the exhausted apprentice. The Jedi search group was returning from a day of rescuing on Kantana, a cold, often snowy planet about two days' flight from Coruscant. While blizzards were a common occurrence on the planet, this one had caught the inhabitants by surprise. Normally there was a short interval of warmer, spring-like weather for every eight months of winter and snowstorms hardly, if ever, interrupted that four month period. Thus, the native Kantanites had been completely unprepared for this one.  
  
Today they had found seven survivors, but there were still hundreds out there, lost in the drifts and seemingly endless blaze of white. Most they had given up on, but a few they still hoped were alive, although they were fast losing that hope. Obi-Wan Kenobi's Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, was not among them.  
  
The last they'd heard of Qui-Gon, he was ill and nursing a somewhat critical injury. Masters Plo Koon, Adi Gallia, and even Masters Yoda and Mace Windu, as well as most of the search-and-rescue team, had given up any hope that Qui-Gon had survived the onslaught of the unprecedented storm's fury. Master Yoda had summed up the situation quite nicely, "Meant for it to be this way, the Force did not."  
  
As far as Obi-Wan knew, he was the only one who still believed Qui-Gon was alive. Wouldn't he have felt him die? Not a day went by that one of the other Jedi did not press the young Padawan to let go of his "futile hopes" and release his feelings to the Force. It was getting to the point where they were actually succeeding in convincing Obi-Wan of what they saw as the truth.  
  
That did NOT help Obi-Wan in his present state.  
  
The search-and-rescue team reached the encampment after dark. While the other Jedi remained in the main lodge area, Obi-Wan went straight to the room he'd been staying in with Qui-Gon before the storm hit. Throwing himself on the bed his Master had previously occupied, Obi-Wan let himself go, as he had ever since the search-and-rescue team had given their views on the likelihood of Qui-Gon's survival.  
  
He cried. He cried until the pillow was damp and then he cried some more until he finally fell asleep, tears still on his cheeks.  
  
Obi-Wan had not eaten in several days for worry and fear about his Master. Every night he cried himself to sleep, only to wake up in the middle of a nightmare that Qui-Gon was not there to soothe. He was always exhausted in the morning and it was beginning to show.  
  
The boy knew he was worrying the Masters and Knights, but that didn't matter to him. What mattered was Qui-Gon, what mattered was the Jedi Master who currently wasn't here, and what mattered was the father Obi-Wan had lost.  
  
*************************  
  
Very early the next morning, Obi-Wan awoke from a fitful sleep. He cracked his eyes open and in the dim light of the dawn, read the chrono mounted on the bedside table. It was five o'clock a.m.  
  
The young Jedi groaned. /Force, I can't do this anymore!/ he thought. His soul and body were worn out, tried to almost their breaking limit. He was now much more susceptible illness, and that was definitely not a good thing. He needed sleep, but it refused to come, not while his Master was out there in this Light-forsaken storm in Force knew what condition, and that scared him---almost as much as the very real possibility of losing Qui- Gon did.  
  
With a sigh, quickly brushing away tears, Obi-Wan sat up and slipped on his boots. No sense in trying to sleep when it wouldn't come.  
  
He walked silently out the door, throwing on his robe as he did so, and went down the hall to where he knew there was an observation window by the door. Not that he would be able to see much of anything.  
  
Curling up in the window seat, Obi-Wan rested his head against the cushions, although he didn't fall asleep, and gazed out into the receding night. He couldn't think---didn't WANT to think---about anything now, knowing it would turn to Qui-Gon sooner or later. Yes, he was worried, yes, he loved his Master, but it hurt to think about him, it hurt not knowing whether his Master was alive or if his wound had healed. Obi-Wan buried his face in his hands, struggling with his emotions. Even when he refused to think about his mentor, he still ended up doing so.  
  
Obi-Wan did not know how long he stayed like that, face hidden in his hands and tears coursing down his cheeks, but it was quite a while. Some time later, he looked up again and gazed almost unseeingly out of the window.  
  
If he had been any more preoccupied he would have missed what came out of the blinding white next.  
  
It was a silhouette, a Human silhouette. They were tall, commanding, with graceful strides that fought against the howling wind and lashing snow. They were also Force-sensitive, he could feel it, even from this distance and . . .  
  
Obi-Wan's mouth dropped open as tears once more came to his vivid blue eyes. It couldn't be, it just couldn't!  
  
But it was.  
  
With a cry of "Master!" the young Jedi more or less toppled off the window seat and rushed to the door. Jerking it open, Obi-Wan rushed out into the frigid early morning air. His heart sang and in his mind, he thought, /I knew it! I KNEW he was alive!/  
  
"MASTER!!!" he called again, happily, tears of joy now streaming down his cheeks, as he ran toward the only man he deemed worthy to be called Father. It wasn't snowing so hard and the light was becoming less dim. He could just make out the older man's features.  
  
Qui-Gon snapped his head up upon hearing his title and his young apprentice's voice. In a rough whisper, he forced out, "Padawan?" and started rushing towards him.  
  
Obi-Wan, sixteen-year-old that he was, launched himself into Qui-Gon's arms as soon as the older man reached him. Almost immediately, he found himself being swept off his feet and spun around by Qui-Gon.  
  
"Oh, Padawan," the Jedi Master murmured huskily, pressing a gentle kiss to the boy's cheek. "Padawan."  
  
Sobbing softly, Obi-Wan clung to the man's neck. "Don't ever, ever do that again," Obi-Wan choked brokenly.  
  
"I'll try not to," Qui-Gon promised quietly. //My son,// he added mentally.  
  
In response, Obi-Wan only clung tighter.  
  
//Thank you, Padawan,// Qui-Gon murmured warmly into the boy's mind.  
  
Raising his head, confused vivid blue eyes sparkling with tears, Obi-Wan asked, //What for?//  
  
Qui-Gon began walking again, not bothering to put the boy down. //You were the only one who truly believed I would make it, weren't you?//  
  
//I don't know, Master . . . I don't think so. Master Yoda even said so himself, 'Meant for it to be this way, the Force did not.' And unless I'm dead wrong, Master Yoda ALWAYS listens to the Force. Master Mace acted like you were too far gone, but I think somewhere inside his heart, he still harbored a tiny spark of hope, but a spark nonetheless. But the others . . . Master, they tried to CONVINCE me that you were . . . dead. A- And it started to work, too,// Obi-Wan replied shakily, rapidly, burying his face against Qui-Gon's neck as several more warm, salty tears slid down his cheeks.  
  
//I'm SO sorry, Padawan, sorry that you had to go through so much alone!//  
  
//Master, don't, please don't. You had no control over it.//  
  
//You're such a brave, sweet young man, Padawan. I would rather you screamed at me than keep all that pain bottled up inside.//  
  
//I'm not going to scream at you, Master, you've been gone far too long for me to do that. Besides, you're here now, everything's falling back into place.//  
  
In response, Qui-Gon pressed a kiss to Obi-Wan's forehead.  
  
The reunited Jedi team was met at the door by Yoda. The small green Master's eyes had a suspicious glimmer to them as he shook his grimer stick at the taller, younger Jedi Master. "Lucky that holding your apprentice you are. If not, hit you I would. Worry your old Master like that you should not! Love you I do, my Padawan. Change, that will not." He placed his hand on Qui-Gon's knee.  
  
Qui-Gon simply smiled at his Master, tears threatening to spill over.  
  
Then Obi-Wan spoke through their bond. //Scare your Padawan like that you should not.// The tears spilled down his cheeks as the boy continued, //For love you, I do as well.//  
  
  
  
The End! 


End file.
